This invention relates to an adjustable pad for a foot binding.
Bindings of various types and configurations are commonly used to attach a rider""s foot to a snowboard. These bindings attach the rider""s foot to the snowboard in a variety of ways, such as by tightening a strap extended over the rider""s foot or by engaging with the bottom or side of the rider""s boot, as in xe2x80x9cstep-inxe2x80x9d bindings.
Regardless of how the rider""s foot is attached to the snowboard, the bindings typically have a toe pad and/or a heel pad that is attached to the binding base and is positioned relative to a toe or heel portion of the rider""s boot. The pads may provide comfort for the rider, prevent slipping of the rider""s boot, accommodate different sized boots or binding bases, or improve the response of the snowboard when a rider turns by transferring force on the pad to the snowboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,900 to Fletcher describes heel and toe pads for a snowboard binding that can be attached to a binding base. The heel and toe pads can be attached to the snowboard, for example, by an adhesive or screws. Pads attached by adhesive may be peeled away from the binding base and reattached to the base at another location.
The assignee of the present application has developed a snowboard binding base and toe pad that can be adjusted on the base without tools. The toe pad has a slot that receives a front end of the base and engages with teeth on an underside of the base. Once the base is mounted to a snowboard, the toe pad is locked in place relative to the base by the teeth. Thus, the toe pad can only be adjusted relative to the base by removing the binding base from the snowboard so that the toe pad can be disengaged from the teeth and moved to a new position relative to the base.
One illustrative embodiment of the invention provides a snowboard binding having a base adapted to be mounted on a snowboard and to receive a rider""s foot, a pad mounted to the base, and a drive mechanism that drives the pad relative to the base.
Another illustrative embodiment provides a snowboard binding having a base adapted to be mounted on a snowboard and to support a bottom of a rider""s foot. The base includes a bottom having a bottom surface to contact an upper surface of a snowboard, and a top surface opposite the bottom surface and near a bottom of a rider""s foot supported by the base. The binding also includes a pad mounted to the base, and a positioner that positions the pad relative to the base. The positioner is positioned entirely between planes including the top and bottom surfaces.
Another illustrative embodiment provides a snowboard binding having a base adapted to be mounted on a snowboard and to receive a rider""s foot, a pad mounted to the base, and a pad positioner that positions the pad relative to the base while the base is attached to the snowboard, without tools and without dismounting the pad from the base.
Yet another illustrative embodiment of the invention provides a method for adjusting a pad on a snowboard binding. The pad is adjusted by providing a binding having a base attached to a snowboard, providing a pad mounted to the base, and positioning the pad relative to the base while the base is attached to the snowboard, without tools and without dismounting the pad from the base.